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BARCELONA (Velo) — Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny) won in another rain-soaked and controversial stage Sunday at the Vuelta a España.
Following chaos in Saturday’s team time trial, race organizers neutralized a technical urban circuit to take times with 9km to go.
Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost) snatched the leader’s jersey after riding into an early breakaway. Starting just six second back, Piccolo hit the day’s adjusted GC point with a big gap.
Riders still raced for the stage win over the short but steep Montjuïc summit with just over 4km to go. Kron jumped to give the Belgian team a big stage win.
To make things even more confusing, time bonuses of 6, 4, and 2 seconds at Montjuïc, and 10, 6, and 4 seconds at the finish line were still in play.
Many of the GC favorites rode in without contesting the stage after they crossed the line at 9km to go.
Kron said the win was important for the team, which is reeling from the death of its development squad rider Tijl de Decker in recent days.
“I missed the Tour, so I was really focused on this stage. And to already win means a lot for me and the team, especially in the hard time the team is going through. So this means a lot for me and the team.
“I did not know Tijl personally, but a lot of guys did, especially Lennert Van Eetvelt van in this group. We got the news and we were really heartbroken, and we are still heartbroken.
But this was the best way to show that we keep fighting as a team for him. We will miss him, the team, everyone will miss him. I never met him, I would have liked to have met him, but we will always keep riding for him.”
Piccolo was one of many fallers during the stage but remaining out front in the remains of the break until 9km to go saw him become the new race leader.
“I went down, but I got up as fast as possible,” he said. “I went back to the two guys in front and I gave it all until the last 9K.
“We needed to try to go in the breakaway because we were only six seconds behind the red jersey, so we had to try something. In the final of the race we went for Marijn [van den Berg], but we had two chances also for the breakaway. I went to the breakaway, I felt very good and I’m very happy.”
Tension even before the stage started
Evenepoel speaks before start of stage. (Photo: Andrew Hood/Velo)
The stage started with tension following Saturday’s controversial team time trial that saw the late finishers racing in near-dark conditions.
At the start in Mataró, riders were not happy about the decision by race organizers to take the GC time at 9km to go on a tricky urban circuit heading to Montjuïc.
Organizers, however, left time bonuses of 6,4,2 at Monttjuic, and 10, 6, 4 at finish at the finish line still in play.
of Montjuïc @andreaskron98 ❤️ For Tijl
#LaVuelta23 @SprintCycling pic.twitter.com/V7Rb5vhagz
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 27, 2023
Heavy rain cleared just in time for the start, but the skies opened up again in the closing hour or so of racing. Rain-slicked roads provoked a string of crashes, including one that took down race leader Lorenzo Milesi (DSM-Firmenich).
At one point, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard were among riders at the front of the bunch urging the peloton to slow down.
Team DSM-Firmenich, however, didn’t want to let the red leader’s jersey just ride away. Milesi faded, but Romain Bardet could take the jersey.
A group pulled clear early to further complicate things. Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost) and Javier Romo (Astana Qazaqstan) were still dangling off the front 40 seconds with 15km to go.
With time bonuses and the GC time cut in play at 9km, the tension only heightened.
How it unfolded: More rain, more nerves
The stage traced through the urban landscapes around Barcelona. (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Stage 2 of the Vuelta a España was, like the prologue, run off in wet weather. Extending 181.8km from Mataró to Barcelona, it featured the third category Coll de Sant Bartomeu peaking less than 8km from the start, then the second category Coll d’Estenalles less than an hour later.
Two uncategorized climbs followed and then, close to the finish, the third category climb to Montjüic Castle. A short plunge back to the city plus an uphill ramp to the line were set to decide the final placings, but concerns over rider safety saw the race organization declare the GC times would be taken at the top of Montjüic, approximately 4km from the finish line.
The riders were still not happy with this, saying things were still too dangerous due to the technical finale, and that safe zone was extended to 9km to go.
The attacks began soon after the start and four riders went clear before the first climb, with Javier Romo (Astana Qazaqstan), Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) and Matteo Sobrero (Jayco-AlUla) taking the points there.
Also present in the move was Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-Easypost), with Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) joining after the summit.
The quintet had a lead of over three minutes but the DSM Firmenich squad of race leader Lorenzo Milesi was riding to control things and reduced to less than two minutes by the start of the Coll d’Estenalles. Soberero was first to the top, ahead of Romo and Nicolau, with many riders in the bunch delayed with punctures on the descent. These included defending Vuelta champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers).
The peloton continued to thread the line between remaining safe in slippery conditions and going fast enough to keep the break within reach. Romo, Piccolo and Sobrero pushed ahead of Bol and Nicolau with approximately 40km remaining, at which point the escapees were 1:57 in front.
A spate of crashes, then a solo run to the line
Javier Romo and Andrea Piccolo just moments ahead of being caught. (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
DSM was hoping to keep the race lead but had a setback to their group chase when Oscar Onley fell and withdrew from the race. Other crashes followed, with Thomas and Primož Roglič falling. Neither were badly hurt and chased back to the peloton, with the dangerous conditions seeing Jumbo-Visma calling for the group to reduce the pace further.
Out front Piccolo also fell, but was able to get back up Romo and Sobrero. The latter cracked soon afterwards and slipped backwards, leaving just two leaders in front of a bunch rendered more nervous after additional crashes.
Those fallers included race leader Milesi, who remounted but was unable to get back to the bunch. He stood to lose his race lead anyway, as the break was 23 seconds ahead with 9km to go, the point where the GC would be determined.
That put Piccolo safely in the leader’s red jersey for stage three, with he and Romo recaptured by the bunch one kilometer later.
The stage win was still up for grabs and a portion of the peloton pushed onwards, motivated by that plus the time bonuses at the finish line and also atop Montjüic. However the overall contenders had decided it wasn’t worth the risk and sat up.
Etapa 2⃣ Stage | – 20 km
El líder ❤️ también se ha visto afectado por una de las caídas.
♂️ Lorenzo Milesi – @TDSM_Firmenich has also been affected by one of the crashes.#LaVuelta23 pic.twitter.com/qnv3BmVY9w
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 27, 2023
Remy Rochas (Cofidis) jumped clear on Montjüic but was passed by Andreas Kron of Lotto-Dstny, who was first across the line. He pressed on down the descent, perhaps inspired by his teammate Thomas De Gendt, who has won on this circuit in the past in the Volta a Catalunya, and carried a solid advantage over four chasers into the final kilometer.
He raced in to grab the victory, with Kaden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck) beating Andrea Vendrame (Ag2r Citroën) and Andrea Bagioli (Soudal QuickStep) for second.
As for the GC riders, they trailed in a long way back. A stage win opportunity had been lost, but staying safe was a much more important goal.